


When You Need Me There (I'll Have Your Back)

by De_Marvel_Bunny



Series: Tony Stark & Co. [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone Is Alive, Fights, Gen, Hurt May Parker (Spider-Man), Hurt Tony Stark, Not much tho, Peter Parker Has a Family, Protective Tony Stark, So is may Parker, Sorry Not Sorry, Stop Killing Her Off, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Angst, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 18:56:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18198053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/De_Marvel_Bunny/pseuds/De_Marvel_Bunny
Summary: When Tony brings Peter home after working together in the lab, he discovers something about May's shady boyfriend. Protective Tony Stark: Activated.Or,May has an abusive boyfriend, Tony deals with him and Peter cheers him on from the sidelines.





	When You Need Me There (I'll Have Your Back)

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in an AU where Tony didn't reveal his identity, and Iron Man is his 'bodyguard'. It isn't crucial to the story, but it's implied.
> 
> May has an abusive boyfriend, so beware of that if it triggers you. It isn't very bad, tho.

A normal, calm Friday evening found our favorite heroes tinkering in the lab together. Nothing unusual, just a standard Friday. The lab was silent, save for the whirring of different machines and the sounds of materials as both geniuses assembled their project.

Peter’s phone buzzed, and he put down his tools to see who it was. It was a text from May.

**_Where are you? I’ve been waiting for 30 minutes for you to get home!_ **

Peter’s blood ran cold. He blindly tapped the air beside him until his hand made contact with Tony’s back. The engineer immediately straightened, taking off the safety goggles he’d been wearing. He raised his eyebrow in a silent question.

“Uh,” Peter stammered, pale face turning towards his mentor. “Wasn’t I supposed to be home already?”

Tony’s usually tanned face turned several shades lighter as realization dawned on him. He quickly grabbed his phone to check the time. 10.00 PM, it read. Peter was supposed to be home at 9.30.

“Shit,”

The two quickly put away their projects, Peter grabbing his bag and stuffing his homework. He quickly shot a text back to his aunt that he was on his way before being ushered out by his mentor.

“That woman is going to kill me,” he groaned, pushing Peter out of the door before racing up the stairs. He quickly threw on a jacket, tossing Peter’s own his way. He grabbed the car keys and together they ran towards the garage. They’d never sped away _that_ fast before. Peter would definitely mark that a new record later.

Later, when ‘Death By Aunt’ wouldn’t be their craving on their tombstone.

\--

They made it to Peter’s apartment in roughly 20 minutes, instead of the usual 35. During the ride, Peter kept glancing at his phone, checking for messages.

“Is she alone right now?” Tony wondered aloud. He didn’t like the idea of stealing her kid away for too long, keeping her lonely.

“No,” Peter answered absentmindedly. “Her boyfriend’s with her tonight,”

Tony made a disgusted sort of noise in the back of his throat.

“I don’t like that guy,” he grumbled. “Shady lookin’ fella,” he said, copying the man's accent.

Peter couldn’t help but nod in agreement. He pretended to like him, for May’s sake. He thought a relationship for May would do her good, and it meant that she had managed moved on from Ben’s death. But when Peter had said he didn’t mind her going out again, he hadn’t meant that he’d allow just anyone with his aunt.

“Yeah, me neither,” he agreed. Tony risked a short glance his way before focusing back on traffic.

“You tell her that?” He questioned, already knowing the answer even before Peter shook his head.

“She seems to like him. There’s just this weird… feeling. I don’t know, maybe it’s just protectiveness, but…” he trailed off, looking back at his phone. Tony merely hummed but said nothing else.

They pulled up in front of Peter’s place. They both got out, taking a deep breath before straightening their back, chin raised high and trying to keep the evident fear of the oncoming disaster that was Concerned Aunt out of their eyes.

May opened the door as they were climbing the steps, and Tony had to keep from snarling to the man standing behind her. May immediately rushed forward to embrace her nephew.

“Ah, Peter,” she exclaimed happily and was that… _relief_ in her voice? Tony wanted to shake it off, but there was an uneasy feeling nagging at him. And since when did she wear her hair loose?

She smiled at Tony over the boy’s head and was about to greet him, too, when someone else exited the house. Tony had a hard time keeping his face straight as Dave, May’s new boyfriend, appeared in the doorway. Tony was about to step up as good guy and greet him when the man shot him a disgusted look.

“And what are _you_ doin’ here?” He spat. Peter pulled back from May to shoot the guy a confused and slightly angry look, but Tony didn’t even blink.

“Just dropping off her kid, nothing more. I’ll be out of your hair in a mo,” he answered with a smile as genuine as he could muster.

“Well, why don’t your fancy little car and get the hell out of my sight,”

“I will,” Tony replied quickly, sensing Peter’s rising anger. “Once I’ve said goodbye. So if you could please calm down, I’ll be gone before you know it,”

In a few steps, the bigger man was in front of him, pushing him back and sneering at him. Tony put up his hands in surrender, stepping back slightly but making sure he didn’t fall off the steps.

“Wow, buddy,” he chuckled slightly, trying to keep his voice light. “I didn’t mean to get in your space. I’ll go if you want me to, I just want to say goodbye before I leave,”

“This is my house,” Dave sneered, bending down until he was hanging in Tony’s personal space. The shorter man tried not to show his discomfort and the way his muscles tensed. “An’ I’m tellin’ ya to _leave_ ,”

“This is _not_ your house, leave him the hell alone,” Peter cut in angrily, fists balled and looking ready for a fight, should it come to that. May quickly grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him back gently. There was the slightest hint of fear in her eyes when Dave’s heavy gaze fell on them. She quickly averted her eyes.

“Look, buddy. I really don’t mean any-”

Whatever Tony was going to say was cut short by Dave’s fist connecting with his head. He was dazed for a second, body going limp and falling back on the steps to the front door. He vaguely registered concerned voices calling his name as black spots danced in his vision. Once they cleared, he noticed May kneeling beside him and Peter’s hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, my gosh, Tony! Are you okay?” May’s concerned voice filtered through his dazed mind. But Tony wasn’t paying attention to it, nor to the pain in his head and the bruises already starting to form on various different places on his body from the fall. No, his eyes were fixed on May as he slowly lifted his hand to brush her hair out of her face. He gritted his teeth at the sight that met his eyes.

An ugly, purple bruise was starting to form just under her left eye. It was slightly swollen and Tony, having had his fair share of bruises throughout his life, knew it was a painful one.

“Tony,” she whispered when she saw the way his jaw set, anger in his eyes. Her voice broke on the short word, making no move to continue talking. It only added to Tony’s anger. Slowly, he got up, all pain forgotten. Dave was bigger than him, but Tony still managed to stare him down. Dave chuckled in a way that would have been threatening if it weren’t for the clear undertone of fear.

“What’cha gon’ do now, eh?” He said, slightly nervous. “You gonna send your Iron Puppet after me, now?”

Now, it was Tony’s turn to chuckle. A cold, icy chuckle that even made May and Peter shiver.

“Oh, no,” he drawled, continuing his way forward with slow steps while Dave scrambled to walk the steps back up backward. “No. I could, and it would make you miserable. But I won’t. And do you know why, Dave?”

Dave shook his head, clearly afraid now. Tony’s smirk disappeared from his face as Dave’s back his the wall. He moved in closer until their faces were mere inches away from each other.

“Because you’re not just some villain, Dave. Because you’re in no way a threat to a large number of people. Because you’re not worth Iron Man’s attention. No, you did something much, _much_ worse. You messed with _my_ friends. You abused _my_ family. You drew the attention of Tony Stark and that is _so much worse_. Because you don’t want to be on my bad side. And yet, you made the top of my list,”

Without warning, Tony hit him straight across the face. The bigger man hit the ground hard, but Tony gave him no time to recover. He kicked his ribs once, _twice_ before dragging him up by the collar and pushing him against the wall.

“I’ll give you _one chance_. One chance to run away and never show your ugly face again,”

“Or else?” Dave challenged. But he didn’t wait for a response. He delivered a hard punch to the stomach, making Tony double over with the force, loosening his grip on the man’s collar. Dave didn’t even give the man a chance to recover before lifting his knee, making hard contact with Tony’s jaw. His head snapped back, and with a hard kick in the ribs, he went flying down the stairs.

But Tony Stark wasn’t one to give up that easily. He immediately rolled over, getting up and standing ready despite the oxygen loss. Dave laughed, throwing his fist back to deliver another punch. But it seemed both men had underestimated each other. Because when Dave charged for another punch, his entire torso was exposed. Before Dave could even comprehend what was happening, Tony had delivered several punches to his stomach and ribs and he finished it off with a hard blow to the face, effectively breaking the man’s nose. Dave staggered back, holding his bleeding nose with both hands. Tony delivered another blow to the stomach and went for another one in his face when Dave caught his fist, twisting his arm and kicking his legs from underneath him. Tony landed on his back, all the air knocked out of him once again. But, just like last time, he didn’t stay down. And before long the roles were reversed again. And again, and again.

May and Peter watched from a small distance, May with a hand for her mouth and tears streaming down her face. Peter had been cheering his mentor on at first, but quickly realized what was happening. He remembered what Tony had said while he was patching him up after he’d fought with his uncle’s killer when he’d seen him in the street.

 _“Never fight angry,”_ he’d said. _“Anger is only one letter away from danger, and you know that. When you’re angry, all your focus goes into strength,”_

 _“But that’s good, right?”_ Peter had questioned. _“My punches would be harder, more effective,”_

Tony had looked at him, a sad smile on his lips.

 _“Yes, that’s true,”_ he’d said somberly. _“And anger is a good motivator. But, Peter, it’s in no way a good mindset for a fight. Your reflexes would be slow, making you a more vulnerable target,”_ he’d put down his tools to give the boy his full attention. _“Anger works well on an inexperienced opponent. But a criminal, someone who knows how to fight, will see your weak spots. And they’ll use that. Trust me, kid. A fight isn’t won by sheer force. Don’t fight angry, Peter. You’ll lose,”_

Peter looked back at the fight in front of him. It was clear to anyone that Tony was seeing red. And now that Peter was looking, he saw that what Tony had said was true. The punches Tony delivered were hard and effective. But he left so many openings, and Dave saw it, too. He knew exactly where to hit him. Tony was losing.

“Stop, both of you. Stop!” He screamed. At this point, both men were on the ground. Tony was currently the one on top, fist a short distance from the other’s face, held back by Dave’s iron grip on his arm. Tony looked up, a look of understanding beginning to replace the anger in his eyes.

But Dave used the distraction to switch positions, rolling over until he was the one pinning Tony down, knee on his chest and hand around his throat. May screamed, but Peter didn’t hesitate.

“Dave, please. You can leave, and we won’t press charges, I swear. Just let him go. Just let him go, please!”

Dave didn’t respond. Tony was struggling to get the man’s hands off his throat, his attempts getting weaker. His mouth opened as if trying to gasp for breath. But the grip around his throat was tight and the air refused to filter through.

Peter was torn between keeping his secret and helping his mentor. He was leaning towards the latter as he saw Tony’s eyes roll back in his head, his arms falling limp beside him.

 _Why hasn’t anyone come to help?_ He screamed internally. _Surely this must have drawn some attention, right?_

Looking up, he saw multiple faces watching safely from behind the window. One was on the phone, speaking urgently.

 _Good,_ he thought. _At least someone’s being smart and calling the cops_.

Peter took a step forward but stopped, biting his lip. People were watching, he couldn’t just beat a grown man with his bare hands-

A loud _smack_ was heard, and Dave’s body fell limply to the side, releasing his grip on Tony who immediately started gasping for air, coughing on the ground. Aunt May was standing next to him, her heel in her hand with the slightest bit of blood on it. Peter’s mouth fell open when he realized that his aunt, like a real badass, just knocked out a grown man.

He was shaken from his trance when May threw down the shoe to kneel next to the coughing and gasping man on the ground, speaking softly to him.

“It’s alright, just calm down. You can breathe, Tony. It’s okay,”

She turned him on his side to help him breathe easier and soon the painful coughs subsided, leaving him panting hard. Peter kneeled at his other side, putting a supporting hand on his back.

“Peter, help me get him inside,” May spoke up, already putting one of Tony’s arms over her shoulder to support him. Peter quickly did the same, easily supporting some of the man’s weight (he vaguely noted that he was too light), but looking back at his aunt in confusion.

“And what about him?” He questioned, pointing at the unconscious man on the ground.

“Let the police deal with him,” May waved it off. Peter nodded, satisfied with that answer, and together they helped Tony back into the house.

They helped him lie down on the couch and he sank into the soft pillows with a groan.

“Peter, be a dear and get me the first aid kit, will you?” May asked, not taking her eyes off Tony and the bruises that started to form around his throat. Peter immediately rushed off to the kitchen where he knew the kit was placed. He grabbed it and turned around to walk back when he heard May’s concerned and slightly exasperated voice.

“Why’d you do that, Tony?” She asked softly. “Why would you hurt yourself like that?”

“Because he hurt _you_ ,” Tony replied, voice just as soft and slightly croaky. “I’m fine with it if you’re dating again- really you’re too hot to be single- ( _slap)_ , but if this is your type, May, then I’m going to have to reconsider,”

Peter knew what he was doing, dodging the concern. And apparently, so did May.

“Tony, you know I appreciate it, I really do. But I can fight my own battles-”

“Then why didn’t you?” Tony cut in, voice still soft but a hint of anger lacing it.

“I’m not some… _damsel_ waiting for a handsome prince to save me, Tony! I can take care of myself!” May’s voice took on a hint of anger now, too.

“I never said you couldn’t,” Tony responded softly, and Peter could picture Tony holding May’s white-knuckled hands softly in his. “I’m just wondering why you didn’t give that asshole what he deserved and kicked his ass? Because you clearly chased away any thought that would imply that you’re unable to do it. By the way, next time lead with that, will you?”

May gave a wet-sounding chuckle at that, and Peter realized his aunt was probably crying.

“He seemed so nice, at first,” she whispered. “He was a gentleman, always kind to Peter, too. But then he just… _changed_. He started yelling sometimes, and tonight he hit me and-”

Peter could practically _hear_ Tony’s teeth clenching. But he whispered a soft “it’s okay”, allowing May to take a shaky breath.

“He said he’d do something to Peter if I were to tell anyone. Tony, I was afraid that he would- he could-”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Tony was quick to reassure her when he voice broke, and Peter’s heart clenched painfully when he heard her sobs, slightly muffled in what he assumed was Tony’s chest. “It’s okay, it’s over now. He can’t do anything, May. You’re safe now,”

Peter waited a few more moments before walking into the room with the kit in hand. The scene was as he’d pictured it, with Tony holding his aunt to his chest. She pulled back when Peter walked in, composing herself with a slight smile.

“Alright, now let’s get you patched up. And, Tony?”

Tony looked at her questioningly. May smacked his arm, and hard.

“Ow, what the-”

He cut himself off when May bent down to give him a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Don’t do that again, please?”

“If you’ll do that more often, I might consider…”

“What, slap you?” May raised an eyebrow.

“Wha- no. I mean- ugh, whatever,”

He sank back into the pillows in defeat, May stifling a laugh as she opened the first aid kit. Peter smiled, sitting down beside his mentor.

“Don’t fight angry, Mr. Stark,” he said smugly. “You’ll lose,”

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you liked it! Make sure to comment your thoughts and give some kudos, they make my day ;)


End file.
